


BREAKING NEWS: Spiderman Is A Menace (in my heart)

by kodzukens



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Crack, Happy Ending, M/M, Spiderman AU, beomgyu is spiderman, defies the rules of physics and medical whatever, reality who, soobin is the chief editor who hates spiderman but has a big fat crush on beomgyu, this is borderline crack pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:22:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28959417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kodzukens/pseuds/kodzukens
Summary: “Aren’t you gonna leave?” Soobin asks sharply. His lips are pressed into a thin line as he glances at Beomgyu, who is desperately wishing he wasn’t dressed in his Spiderman suit right now.Beomgyu could, as he can’t stand the unfamiliarity of Soobin’s constant glowering and jeering. But he considers himself to be an optimistic person so he responds with, “Aren’t you supposed to thank me?”Soobin glares at him, the lips that are usually pouting are twisted into a grimace. “I have nothing to thank you for. I could have defended myself well enough.”“Right.” Beomgyu is unable to repress the snort that slips out. “Like you and your flailing limbs could’ve taken them on.”(alternatively: beomgyu is spiderman and the one and only cute photographer of their university's daily newspaper. soobin is his chief editor who despises spiderman with every fiber in his body.)
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin
Comments: 36
Kudos: 175





	BREAKING NEWS: Spiderman Is A Menace (in my heart)

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: im no medical expert. pls dont do whatever these boys do when their friend falls off a cliff. please enjoy :D

It’s exactly 30 minutes past midnight. The 5:53 PM Daily Newspaper Club is huddled around their long table in preparation for their discussion for following week’s news, thriving solely off the coffee that is ninety percent water and ten percent taste, courtesy of the club cartoonist and literary editor, Huening Kai.

“Okay, everyone is present?”

Choi Soobin, chief editor and leader of said Newspaper club, speaks up. It is very worth noting that in exchange for his usual bare minimum neat appearance, his bed head has shown itself, dark hair sticking out in all places, his eyes are puffier than usual, and the ketchup stains on his sleeves are a very big indicator of how he has sold his soul to be alive at this moment.

“Physically? Yes. Mentally? I don’t know where Huening Kai is,” Choi Yeonjun, their best and only editorial journalist and feature editor, responds without looking up from his phone.

Said boy, the most beloved Huening Kai, jerks his head up at the sound of his name. The sound of the Candy Crush narrator booming from his phone with a loud, “Frogtastic!”

“Did someone call me?” He blinks up at the other members curiously.

“There he is,” Kang Taehyun, their smartest and multi talented sports and associate editor, says. “At level seventy five in Candy Crush.”

Beomgyu throws a thumbs up at Soobin, who snorts at his well-intended gesture.

“Did everyone prepare their topics for this week?” Soobin asks in the manner that everyone knows is just for formalities. “Let’s start with Huening Kai.”

“I have decided to make a commentary on the lack of ducks in our university gardens.”

Soobin looks close to a strangled goose but he clamps his expression down to a pressed smile. Huening Kai is his baby after all. “Great job, Kai. What about you, Taehyun?”

Taehyun clears his throat. “Our university’s female soccer team star player, Hyunjin Kim, the Food Tech major, wins MVP again for this season.”

Soobin nods, a bit more satisfied with the response. He turns to their best journalist with an even more hopeful look. “Yeonjun?”

Yeonjun was undoubtedly their best guy for the juiciest of gossip. He was the one who exposed a sabotage in one of their university’s pageants, where a bitter Sooyoung Ha, Applied Corporate Management student, attempted to replace Jinsol Jung’s, Fisheries student, crown of artificial peacock feathers with actual colored chicken feathers, of which Jinsol is highly allergic to --- right before they started to make out backstage.

That was the biggest break for their club by far --- would have been the second if That Incident had taken place.

That Incident.

The incident that almost made 5:53 PM Daily Newspaper’s photographer, cutest member, and also Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman, Choi Beomgyu, rip his hair out in distress and scream into the void.

(“Spiderman goes to our university!”

Yeonjun declares when he enters their office, opening the door with a loud bang. Huening Kai visibly flinches from where he was doodling penguins in the corner, Taehyun places a hand of reassurance on his back, and Soobin narrows his eyes at the mention of their Not So Friendly Neighborhood hero.

“How do you know that?” Beomgyu tries his best to stutter out of panic but there is still a shakiness to his voice that makes Taehyun glance at him with a sharp look. Beomgyu instantly averts his gaze and coughs into the sleeve of his jacket.

Soobin --- always a sweetie --- tilts his head at him. “Are you okay, Beomgyu?”

“Just choked on something.” Beomgyu waves off his concern. “Nothing special.”

Soobin looks like he’s about to say something again but Yeonjun speaks up once again, eyes gleaming with excitement.

“He was doing his patrols last night, right? I just happened to be near him when he dropped this!” Yeonjun fishes out a bulking textbook out of his backpack --- a very familiar textbook that forces a squeak out of Beomgyu’s throat. “This is our university’s psychology textbook! It’s a general class though so we can’t really say which department he is…”

Beomgyu pales at the sight of his General Psych textbook.

So that’s where that went.

Beomgyu knew it was a stupid thing for him to do, but it was 2am and he had a quiz that morning so he had to do something about that. But that obviously went wrong, because despite his own claims that he could multitask, Beomgyu had dropped his textbook when he was rushing to catch a burglar, spent several hours searching for his textbook, and then flunked his quiz after.

“How clumsy of him,” Soobin comments with great disdain. No one is surprised by the change of tone in their usually sweet and gentle editor in chief. For an unknown reason, this is the look they get whenever Spiderman is brought on.

\--- Not that anyone is too scared to ask, it’s more just because they get weirded out when Soobin suddenly decides to groan and moan before shoving his face on his desk ---

Beomgyu presses his lips and shrinks into his seat. He’s not about to defend why their Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman left his psychology textbook and possibly failed his quiz.

“Permission to write about it --- sir?” Yeonjun looks hopeful. Huening Kai matches his expression, smiling brightly at Soobin --- the one that he knows Soobin won’t be able to say no to. Taehyun appears to be nervous, and Beomgyu prays to whatever deity Soobin worships that Soobin will say no.

Taehyun stammers out, “I don’t think ---”

“No.” Soobin crosses his arms. He should look intimidating to others but the pout on his lips just makes Beomgyu wanna squish his cheeks more. “No Spiderman articles for our newspaper.”)

“So, I was thinking we could write about the incident this morning ---” Yeonjun tries to start but Soobin is already on it.

“No, no, no, no.” Soobin is shaking his head vigorously, as if the simple thought of it would be the end of the world. “Didn’t we agree we wouldn’t write any Spiderman articles? Besides, the incident this morning was nothing more than a fake PR scene.”

Beomgyu stifles a gasp. That was totally uncalled for! Beomgyu just happened to be eating his pancakes when the security guard got stabbed. He was late for his first class for a whole 30 minutes because of that! Soobin should give him credit even just a little bit!

“You agreed with yourself that we wouldn’t write any Spiderman articles,” Huening Kai says brightly. He lifts his paper up to show a beautiful rendering of Beomgyu in his Spiderman suit on the McDonalds drive thru.

Soobin frowns at that. Beomgyu takes a closer look at the drawing. It’s done well enough but there are some details missed like the web details at the back of the suit or the neon sticker Beomgyu puts on the bottom of his shoes for no reason. Other than that, Beomgyu would say it’s a pretty solid caricature.

“I agree with Soobin, though,” Taehyun speaks up from where he was at the table. “Not out of spite like Soobin, but rather it’s just because Spiderman has nothing to do with our university.”

Soobin visibly splutters, “What do you mean, _out of spite_ \---”

“He’s a student at this uni, remember?” Huening Kai reminds them. “So, he has something to do with this uni!”

How could Beomgyu forget when he is so close to flunking his General Psych class because his textbook is now in the hands of Yeonjun, who protects the item like it’s the Holy Grail. It hurts to visit Yeonjun’s apartment because Beomgyu could see his textbook, right in display in the middle of the living room, in a glass case and everything. The urge to break the glass and run off with his book is so strong that his usual biweekly visits have turned into weekly visits only.

Taehyun scrunches his nose at that, “Spiderman is wearing a mask for a reason. There’s no need for us to write about him.”

Beomgyu nods his head at that. He already has so many articles of him outside of their university anyways, and it’s not like he would mind their club writing articles about him. It’s just that he absolutely doesn’t want the first article people in the campus to read about Spiderman is how he inevitably flunked his General Psych quiz right after losing it. Taehyun may not know of his secret identity but Beomgyu hopes he is feeling Beomgyu’s gratefulness of having such an incredible roommate.

“You can write an interview with the debate team,” Soobin suggests weakly to a deflated Yeonjun. He’s actually too nice for his own good, usually could never flat out reject Yeonjun’s or anyone’s ideas really, but for some reason Soobin just despises Spiderman. None of them know why. Not even Taehyun, who knows everything.

Beomgyu doesn’t know what to feel about it. When he’s just himself, Soobin is all smiles and teases, always allowing himself to succumb to Beomgyu’s games and starting it himself. Almost like best friends, if Taehyun didn’t already have that title.

But when Beomgyu is Spiderman, he isn’t at all familiar with the glares and the sharp words that slip out of Soobin’s mouth. In fact, the first time Beomgyu heard such words from Soobin, where he was listening in intently on what was supposed to be the answers for the economics exam that quickly turned into an anti Spiderman talk, he almost cried from where he was hiding near the garbage dump.

(That same day, Soobin calls him after their club meeting, where Beomgyu is just himself again. He waits for Soobin to finish locking up the office with silence. It’s usually here where he would find himself chatting away to Soobin about his day but from what he’s heard today, he doesn’t think he has any energy to talk to Soobin about anything.

“What’s up?” Soobin says in a soft voice once they exit the building. It’s that gentle tone that Beomgyu has familiarized himself with Soobin, the one that makes itself known when one of the two of them has had it rough for the day. “You’re quiet today.”

Beomgyu only shrugs. He doesn’t really know what to say except -- ‘ _What do you mean Spiderman is a menace to society --- also please take back what you said about my ass, I’m trying my best to do squats._ ’

They walk to the nearby convenience store, just near their dorm building, per Soobin’s request. Beomgyu only shakes his head when Soobin asks him if he wants to buy something, waiting outside the store as he waits for Soobin once again.

Soobin exits the store with two ice cream sticks in hand. Beomgyu doesn’t know why, as it’s an autumn night --- far too cold for anyone to be eating ice cream but somehow there’s a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he watches Soobin make his way over to Beomgyu, handing him one of the ice cream sticks. Cookies n’ Cream flavor.

“It’s fall, Soobin,” Beomgyu tells him despite the grin on his face. He already knows the answer but he still asks, “Why would we be eating ice cream in the middle of fall?”

“Well, you’re smiling now, aren’t you?” Soobin retorts, dimples flashing when a smile of his own appears.)

Yeonjun presses his lips before he sighs and nods, “Alright then. I’ll write about them.”

“Good. Last one, Beomgyu.” The softness in Soobin’s eyes return when he faces Beomgyu seated on his right. He still looks pretty even when his hair has given up on looking decent. “You’ll take the pics right?”

“It's literally my job, Soobin. What else am I supposed to do?”

“ _What else am I supposed to do._ ”

Soobin sticks out his tongue in petty retaliation that makes Beomgyu laugh. He throws a piece of crumpled paper in Soobin’s direction and gets two in return. Somewhere he hears Yeonjun and Taehyun share one exasperated sigh but he doesn’t pay them any mind.

-

It truly is terrible when your crush would rather chew at their own feet than breathe the same air as you.

It isn’t Beomgyu’s fault he happened to be patrolling around the neighborhood when he spots Soobin, at 3am outside the convenience store near their dorms, dressed in his usual hoodie and pyjama pants combo. He looks like he was just dragged out of bed with the sluggish movements as he moves.

It definitely isn’t Beomgyu’s fault that there was an obscured figure following Soobin outside the convenience store, creeping behind Soobin as the latter tries to open a bar of ice cream, knife ready to strike any moment.

“Watch out!”

Beomgyu scoops Soobin in his arms, ignoring the distressed yelp of the almost-victim Choi Soobin.

“WHAT THE HELL? Why are _you_ here?” Soobin shouts, wiggling like a worm in Beomgyu’s hold. Beomgyu stifles a grunt. Soobin is already taller than him by 7cm and definitely heavier than what Beomgyu can carry but he can manage --- just for a few minutes.

The criminal jumps --- their face covered by a black mask. They lunge forward in an attempt to get a hit at Beomgyu, who narrowly avoids it despite the squirming chief editor in his arms.

Beomgyu moves to the assaulter’s side, where they stay unprotected, and he lands a good punch to where he knows there’ll be an instant effect --- right to their head, knocking out the criminal in one go. They drop down immediately, limbs sprawled across the pavement. Beomgyu throws a few webs down for assurance that they’re not gonna go anywhere then until the police find them.

“Oh my god,” Soobin says from where he was in Beomgyu’s arms. His eyes are wide in terror as he’s completely frozen. “Did you just kill them?”

“What? No!” Beomgyu is deeply offended. Ever since his first official day as Spiderman, he has always told the press that he wouldn’t kill anyone. He has made that clear! Various times to clarify too! “I just knocked him out! It’s nothing dangerous! You should know that I ---”

“Can you put me down now? You smell like unwashed laundry.” Soobin whacks Beomgyu’s arm. Beomgyu honestly doesn’t know if he’s hitting him weakly on purpose or not so he carefully sets Soobin on the ground and is reminded of Soobin’s towering height over him.

They stand there for a good minute, looking at each other in complete awkward silence. Awkward for Beomgyu maybe, seeing as how he is frozen there in his Spiderman suit. Soobin just looks pissed at the sight of Spiderman and his dirtied ice cream bar now laying in the middle of the street.

“Aren’t you gonna leave?” Soobin asks sharply. His lips are pressed into a thin line as he glances at Beomgyu, who is desperately wishing he wasn’t dressed in his Spiderman suit right now.

Beomgyu could, as he can’t stand the unfamiliarity of Soobin’s constant glowering and jeering. But he considers himself to be an optimistic person so he responds with, “Aren’t you supposed to thank me?”

Soobin glares at him, the lips that are usually pouting are twisted into a grimace. “I have nothing to thank you for. I could have defended myself well enough.”

“Right.” Beomgyu is unable to repress the snort that slips out. “Like you and your flailing limbs could’ve taken them on.”

It isn’t any secret that Soobin has the weakest physical strength out of the 5 club members. There’s Yeonjun, who works out everyday like his lifeline depends on it, Taehyun, who was in the archery club, volleyball club, and soccer club in high school and is now doing track in college, Beomgyu, who is literally Spiderman, and Huening Kai, who could accidentally kill a fly when he’s whipping his hands around like a madman.

“Woah! Okay! The audacity! What happened to the Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman?” Soobin exclaims with great contempt. He is looking at Beomgyu with narrowed eyes, like he is an actual spider that needs to be squished under his foot. “I’m not surprised that your slogan is a scam.”

“You were rude to me first!” Beomgyu sounds like a kid, even more so when he points an accusatory finger at Soobin, who scoffs.

“You were the one who had the audacity to touch me without my consent ---”

“You were literally about to get stabbed in the gut!”

“Yeah right, and you also threw my ice cream on the street!”

“I’ll literally buy you a new one if that’s the worst of your problems.”

Beomgyu and Soobin bicker on a regular basis, though most of it is teasing and fun. Spiderman Beomgyu and Soobin bicker just the same, except Beomgyu is sure that Soobin is most definitely having thoughts to strangle Spiderman Beomgyu.

“Don’t.”

Beomgyu is so used to the gentle, always smiling Soobin that when this Soobin is shooting daggers at him with his eyes only, it’s there that Beomgyu is reminded of what is the general consensus amongst their college campus when Choi Soobin is gazed upon for the first time: intimidating, scary, and would probably break someone’s neck.

Of course, Beomgyu knows better, that Soobin is a softie who almost cried upon knowing that cats can’t taste any sweet flavors. But seeing a not smiling Soobin is just --- unfamiliar.

Soobin picks up his fallen wallet from where it landed just at the edge of the sidewalk, almost thrown across the street. Beomgyu watches carefully as Soobin checks his wallet, skimming through his bills and relaxing once he sees familiar faces to Beomgyu on the picture holder.

Beomgyu strains his neck to get a good look at the picture in Soobin’s wallet, to confirm his suspicions --- he was right. It was the newspaper club’s picture, the one they had taken at the photobooth during a school festival. There was Huening Kai and Yeonjun at the back, giving the other peace signs behind their backs, Beomgyu in front and middle beside Soobin, the two of them pinching each other’s cheeks while grinning at the camera, and next to them was Taehyun, who was smiling serenely at the camera.

Beomgyu has a similar one in his own wallet; the only difference being that Taehyun is doing a wacky pose of his own.

“Creep,” Soobin calls him once he spots Beomgyu still present. He is still glaring at Beomgyu with such disgust as if he had just eaten a whole rat in front of him. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

Beomgyu is unable to resist the grin that grows on his face when he says, “The one in the center is quite handsome.”

Soobin looks at him weirdly before a smirk shows itself on his face.

“I know right,” he says before he walks back to the dorm building.

-

(When Beomgyu returns to his dorm room at the crack of dawn, he is met with Taehyun seated at their kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee with an ambience of complete relaxation..

Beomgyu freezes. From what he knows, Taehyun’s Wednesday classes start at 2pm in --- what was it? Corporate Social Responsiveness? --- whatever Interdisciplinary Business Studies students like him do. He’s sure of that ---

So why?

Taehyun seems to read his mind because he answers with a simple, “I was awakened by the sound of Soobin screaming across the hall --- and also the sound of Spiderman nearly crashing in our balcony."

Beomgyu curses himself. His usual routine of climbing in and out of his dorm balcony was ruined because for some reason, Taehyun had locked their balcony --- right after Beomgyu left for his Spiderman duties.

So the obvious result, right when Beomgyu thought he was going to make a smooth entrance back into his dorms, he was greeted with an extremely painful slam to the balcony doors.

Beomgyu doesn’t know why, but he’s stammering and the only coherent thing he could say to Taehyun is, “EYY, what’s up… bro...”

“Don’t worry, I’ve known all this time.”

“Wait --- you know I’m Spiderman?” Beomgyu blanches at the bluntness of Taehyun’s words, who don’t seem the least bit surprised.

“Of course,” Taehyun says coolly. He takes a sip of his coffee, looking right into Beomgyu’s eyes before saying, “I’ve been doing the laundry all this time.”)

-

When Beomgyu enters the office with Taehyun after him constantly bombarding Taehyun with questions of his full knowledge of Beomgyu’s secret identity --- that and an interview with MVP of the season, Kim Hyunjin, he is met with an obviously brooding Soobin in his chair. Yeonjun is beside him, chatting away at his ear about something that Beomgyu can take a guess at. Huening Kai is doodling ducks this time at his corner with no care, presumably for his section of the paper.

“What happened?” Taehyun asks once they settle in the room.

Beomgyu carefully sets his camera down before he goes to Soobin, who sighs in relief and tugs at Beomgyu’s fingers with a pout.

“Gyu, Yeonjun’s being annoying again!” He points at Yeonjun, not at all sticking to his words from last night. Yeonjun smacks his shoulder. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“What happened?” Beomgyu repeats Taehyun’s question.

Soobin looks as if someone asked him to lick the toilet seat in their school bathrooms and Yeonjun beams at that question.

“He just told me Spiderman saved him last night! Just outside the convenience store near his dorms! How cool is that!” Yeonjun says, eyes glimmering with excitement. Beomgyu almost laughs, it’s nice to see fans --- especially if that fan is Choi Yeonjun, who Beomgyu owes, like, five slices of pie.

“Is that so?” Taehyun raises an eyebrow. He glances at Beomgyu for a split second before returning his gaze to Soobin. “How did that happen?”

“I didn’t tell you I got saved,” Soobin tries to correct the correctness of Yeonjun’s statement. His ears are glowing red. “I was simply telling you about the _audacity_ \---”

“Stop denying the reality, Soobin!” Yeonjun says. “Since you are a student enrolled in this university, then that can grant us permission to write an article about Spiderman saving ---”

Soobin pales at that, “Excuse me ---”

“I agree with Yeonjun.” Beomgyu places a hand on his chin and nods in approval. “Maybe we should write an article about that glorious moment of when you were saved by Spiderman ---”

Taehyun glances at him with panicked eyes, “Wait, Beomgyu, are you serio ---”

“Just one.”

All of them whip their head to Soobin in surprise, even Huening Kai who appeared as if nothing could bring him out of his duck doodling world.

“What?” Beomgyu is unable to stop himself from gaping at their chief editor, who is now looking at anything but their eyes, ears turning beet red. “Soobin, what did you just say?”

“I said, we can write an article about Spiderman,” Soobin says with a defeated sigh. “Just one…”

He is pouting now. Beomgyu thinks he has absolutely no business looking adorable like that but he only smiles at Soobin, who is still actively avoiding their eyes --- even as Yeonjun whoops in excitement at finally being able to write a Spiderman article, as Taehyun just blinks rapidly in confusion before moving over to look at Huening Kai’s duck doodles, and as Beomgyu simply grins at him before he ruffles Soobin’s hair, receiving a whine in return.

-

Soobin calls him again after club hours, Taehyun sees that as an opportunity to slip away from Beomgyu because they both know Beomgyu is going to chat away nonstop about his Spiderman adventures because seriously --- Beomgyu has wanted to brag about this for the longest time.

Beomgyu rests himself against the wall as he waits for Soobin to finish locking up the office. He doesn’t really know what to think of right now. He knows today was Soobin’s General Ecology exam, the one he had been stressing over the past two weeks which could also explain why he was out in the streets at 3am last night but Soobin is humming Cotton-Eyed Joe under his breath.

“Done?” Beomgyu asks once Soobin is in front of him. He can’t make out Soobin’s expression in this moment, whether it be the lighting of the hallway or just because Soobin might be making a blank face only.

Soobin nods. “Let’s go?”

They walk together in matched paces, not missing a single beat as they move in sync. There’s always a familiar silence settling over them on nights like this. It’s never uncomfortable or uneasy. It’s just them. Soobin and Beomgyu, on their way to a convenience store, on their way to the dorms, to anywhere they'll find convenient. It’s just them.

Beomgyu is terribly comfortable despite only knowing Soobin for a year. He’s known Taehyun for fourteen years but there’s nothing like Soobin’s presence that can make Beomgyu feel like this. It’s gentle but not quiet, it’s adventurous but not reckless, it’s calm and steady but never boring.

Their first meeting goes like this: Beomgyu, the very distressed first year psychology student, is in desperate need for one more student to fill out his survey.

Despite his friendly disposition which was why he managed to have about 129 students fill out his forms, most students at this university had just breezed past him with no problem and the best Beomgyu could do despite the boiling urge to shove his papers down everyone’s throat was just to press his lips tightly into a smile.

Taehyun had done his part of introducing students to Beomgyu, and that went well just fine --- but Beomgyu seriously needs just one more.

Luckily for him, on one very blazing hot morning, right when Beomgyu felt like he might actually turn into a puddle from roaming around the campus for three hours, Soobin, the nicest second year industrial biology student to ever grace this planet, had approached him with an ice cream bar and the cutest smile Beomgyu has ever seen.

“I’ll fill out your survey if you do this one thing for me,” Soobin had told him, offering him the bar of ice cream.

And that’s how Beomgyu, along with his talent of taking pictures, ends up joining the 5:53 Daily Newspaper.

(Beomgyu also finds a cute to borderline ugly doodle of a baby bear at the corner of Soobin’s paper. He finds it very adorable but he doesn’t mention that anywhere.)

“I’ll be honest, Gyu.”

Soobin breaks the silence first. He is, for sure, pouting again judging by that honeyed tone in his voice. Beomgyu bites the inside of his cheek to contain his smile.

“I don’t really want to write this Spiderman article,” Soobin grumbles with enough contempt for Beomgyu to feel himself deflate.

Beomgyu supposes it’s a weird situation to be in. To have one of the people closest to you --- your crush also be your biggest anti-fan. Beomgyu should have found himself out of the club by now upon hearing comments about him as Spiderman from Soobin’s mouth but he’s still here. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t actually mind that much. It’s almost comically funny to him at how much Soobin hates his other self with a burning passion.

“Is there a ‘but’ somewhere there?” Beomgyu tries to be hopeful because maybe Soobin will add something a bit more positive. He couldn’t be that cold-hearted about Spiderman, right?

“ _Butt_ ,” Soobin adds, a smug grin on his face, “he has none of that.”

Beomgyu internally screams. _I’m working on that!_

“But I suppose I should thank him for last night.”

A laugh slips out of Beomgyu at Soobin’s sudden yield, “Weren’t you screaming about the ‘audacity’ he had earlier to save you?”

“Ugh, please.” Soobin rolls his eyes. “Do you seriously think I could’ve defended myself? I know I said the opposite earlier but I don’t think I would be here right if it weren’t for that brat.”

“With those flailing arms? I don’t think you can even land a punch.”

Soobin frowns and lands what can be considered to be an attempt of a punch on Beomgyu’s shoulder. The impact of the attack is pretty much what can be expected of the calibre of Soobin’s strength, nothing more than just a whiff of wind hitting Beomgyu’s shoulder that Beomgyu doubles over in laughter at the soft bump Soobin gave him.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Soobin evidently turn red despite the darkness of their path and that only escalates Beomgyu’s cackles further.

“Stooooop,” Soobin whines in embarrassment, throwing his arms around Beomgyu, who is still crouched over the sidewalk. “We get it! I’m athletically stilted! Stooooooop.”

Beomgyu is hyper-aware of Soobin squishing his cheeks against his back in a futile attempt to obscure his humiliation. It’s cute. He’s cute. Beomgyu tries to ignore the fluttering in his chest but it’s highly impossible when Soobin is acting cute like this.

Beomgyu’s laughter comes to a halt when he pushes himself back up. Soobin is still clinging to him in a vice grip that gets a soft chuckle from Beomgyu.

“Don’t worry, Soobin,” says Beomgyu as they make their way to the convenience store. “I’ll beat up any bad guys in our way.”

“Yeah right,” Soobin snorts from where he was snuggled on the crook of Beomgyu’s shoulder. It tickles but Beomgyu forces himself to stay still for the sake of not accidentally giving Soobin a headbutt. “You’re like, what? 5’3? What are you gonna do to them? Bite their ankles?”

“You’re the 185cm guy who can’t even land a punch on me,” Beomgyu retorts, resulting in another whine from Soobin again. What a baby. “Also, I’m not even that short! I’m literally 5’11! You’re just freakishly tall!”

“ _I’m not even that short_ ,” Soobin parrots, making a face while he’s at it. Beomgyu kicks his feet. “Ow.”

They arrive at the convenience store after a back and forth of them just kicking each other for a total of 5 minutes before they got tired of that. Beomgyu follows Soobin into the store, he gets his hands on at least five chocolate beverages for him to store in his mini fridge later. Soobin simply shakes his head before grabbing ten kinds of bread.

“You’re gonna get the Spiderman pictures tomorrow, right?” Soobin asks once they exit the convenience store.

“Yeah. I’ll get good pics for sure.”

It doesn’t make any sense to Beomgyu at all at how nonchalant he is on coming back to this place when he almost got stabbed here. Beomgyu is the one feeling paranoid here! He’s been looking left and right to the point where his neck is about to snap, just in case any more bastards come out.

Soobin scoffs, “I saw him once trying to help an old lady cross the street.”

Beomgyu vividly remembers that. He received two baskets of mangoes right after. “Is that a bad thing...?”

“He thinks all old ladies are weak! I’m pretty sure that old lady could’ve ran a whole marathon if she wanted! He’s so… I don’t know the word but I hate it.”

Beomgyu can only laugh at that. Sometimes, Soobin is funny in ways he doesn’t even know.

“Be careful, alright?” Soobin tells him. “Try to stay out if he’s dealing with something dangerous. Just take pics of him when he’s out on those patrols he does or whatever.”

He looks so worried, brows scrunched and lips formed into another pout once. Beomgyu has to smile at that. Despite his shorter stature, he ruffles Soobin’s hair once again, getting him a soft ‘oof’ from his chief editor.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

-

(“You look like a mess,” Taehyun comments once Beomgyu lands on their balcony after one hectic patrol. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

He throws him an ice pack that Beomgyu instantly sets on his bruised cheek. It’s either Beomgyu is getting more senile or the burglars around town are getting buffer. Seriously, where do these people even gym?

“You should really invest in a bit more makeup,” Taehyun suggests, studying him carefully. “Sometimes, your injuries are a little bit visible.”

“Noted.”

When has Taehyun turned into his manager? Beomgyu can’t recall. Oh well, it’s not like Beomgyu can complain. He has been doing their laundry after all.

“Beomgyu? Taehyun?”

A soft knock sounds at their door, accompanied by the gentle voice of Soobin.

Taehyun and Beomgyu look at each other with alarms blazing in their heads.

“I’ll get the door, you go change,” Taehyun whispers before shoving Beomgyu in his room and running towards the door. Beomgyu instantly follows and changes into his pyjamas, shoving his Spiderman suit far far far into his closet.

When Beomgyu emerges from his bedroom, Soobin’s smiling face instantly morphs into one of great concern and he rushes over instantly to him. “What happened to your cheek, Beomgyu?”

Right. He forgot about that.

Beomgyu smiles brightly at Soobin despite the terrorizing pain in his cheek. This is a mess. “There was a rat in my bedroom.”)

-

Seventeen hours later, Beomgyu finds himself crawling on the side of a building. He knows that just inside of this building are office workers probably gawking at the sight of such an awesome dude like him outside but his top first priority right now is taking pictures. His camera dangling on a web next to him. He doesn’t really know if his webs would work just as well as a tripod but he supposes he could try to make it work due to his lack of equipment.

“Pose One,” Beomgyu says to himself. He leans backwards, propping himself on one arm and tipping his chin upwards. He poses with his free hand, making it look like he’s shooting webs somewhere. “One… two.. three…”

_Click!_

“Okay, Pose Two.” Beomgyu faces the camera this time, his posed arm turned towards the lenses. “One… two… the ---”

“OH MY GOD. ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TAKING SELFIES RIGHT NOW?”

_Click!_

Beomgyu doesn’t have to look down to know who that was. He stifles a sigh as he faces his adorable chief editor, who is looking delightfully smaller when Beomgyu is up here. Soobin is wearing a gray dorky Spongebob shirt with stupid looking cargo shorts.

Beomgyu finds himself grinning beneath his mask.

“Is there anything you need?” Beomgyu levers himself down the building with a web. He dangles in front of Soobin. He can clearly see the disapproving look on Soobin’s face grow even more scathing now that he’s up close. “You’re the convenience store guy, right?”

“No.” Soobin’s voice is flat as he gives Beomgyu an unimpressed look. “I am not.”

“You are!” Beomgyu doesn't say the words ‘You are also my chief editor!’ Because why would he? “What’s up!”

“What’s up is that someone at this very moment could’ve been robbed, or shot, or killed! I don’t know! But you’re up there taking selfies!” Soobin fumes, nose scrunching up. “How much of a narcissist can you get? That’s so not ---”

Beomgyu knows it’s not the right time but it just slips out of his lips, “You’re pretty cute, y’know that?”

Soobin halts completely in his rant about civilian protection and blanches. His eyes are wide and he is gaping at Beomgyu. He stutters out, “Wha --- What even… what?”

Beomgyu laughs. It’s always so fun teasing Soobin, whether it be as Spiderman or just Beomgyu. He always gets weird when you compliment him.

Soobin narrows his eyes at him. “Are you on drugs or something because ---”

Beomgyu swiftly interrupts him because there’ll be a never ending bickering with Soobin if they start.

“Gotta go --- have to make sure the civilians are safe and whatnot.” Beomgyu has only one picture in his camera but he can take more later if it means to placate Soobin’s nerves right now. Absentmindedly, his hand reaches up to ruffle Soobin’s hair and he stops himself just in time, ignoring the weirded out expression of his chief editor and giving him a timid salute instead.

“Thank you for that reminder!” Beomgyu tells him before he takes off.

-

(Later that evening, when Beomgyu and Taehyun are eating cold noodles in their shared dorm room, where Beomgyu can now roam around freely in his Spiderman suit, Beomgyu muses, “Soobin is pretty cute, isn’t he?”

Taehyun just stares at him for the longest time with the look of someone who is so absolutely done with life. He sighs before shaking his head, “I knew it would come to this.”

Beomgyu tilts his head at him, “Hm?”)

-

Beomgyu doesn’t know how he --- or any of them ended up here.

It started off as a joke, where Huening Kai whines about how he needs a badly needed break and Soobin instantly latches his arms onto him, grinning and cooing that he’ll let his baby take a break if he just asks. Yeonjun just rolls his eyes before going back to his laptop, Taehyun looks curious at the notion of a vacation, and Beomgyu can only watch the scene unfold with an undistinguishable curl in his gut.

But then Taehyun says, “Why not have a small outing? Us club members?”

Huening Kai gasps at the revolutionary idea.

And that’s how the five members of the 5:53 Daily Newspaper find themselves here, hiking up on a mountain, on the way to one of the many houses Huening Kai’s family owns.

Yeonjun leads the team on the front, because he’s cool like that, Taehyun and Huening Kai are next in line, talking to each other in low whispers --- probably discussing on how to steal the cola from Yeonjun’s backpack, and Beomgyu trails (whether deliberately or not --- even Beomgyu himself doesn’t know) behind them with Soobin, who, despite being stilted in any physical activity, looks as if he is genuinely enjoying this outing.

“Did you bring snacks?” Beomgyu asks him --- more so because he just wants to start a conversation with Soobin but also because he woke up late despite Taehyun’s attempts to wake him up (according to Taehyun, the marching band in the floor below them was involved) and so breakfast had to be left behind.

Soobin raises a brow at him, as if to say ‘Are you challenging me?’ before he opens up his backpack and sure enough, inside are enough snacks to feed a community of starving children.

“As I should,” Soobin says smugly. “You can take five! For now.”

Beomgyu finds himself beaming at that before stealing ten snacks, resulting in Soobin whining once again and kicking Beomgyu’s legs. They continue their bickering, two kicks turn into three so on and so on til they get tired at the 25th kick.

"Did you bring your camera?" Soobin asks, peering curiously at what might be the contents of Beomgyu's bag.

"As I should!" Beomgyu tells him. He takes out the disposable camera out of his bag. "We're gonna fill this baby up!"

Soobin studies the camera in his hand before humming and nodding. He doesn't say anything about that after.

“What are we? Middle schoolers?” Soobin whacks him on the shoulder when Beomgyu suggests they play rock paper scissors.

“You sure do act like it.” Beomgyu cackles when Soobin slaps him on the shoulder again. “Who cares if the game is for middle schoolers? Let’s just play!”

Soobin yields anyway despite his previous complaints because Beomgyu knows he can’t ever back out when it’s just the two of them.

-

Beomgyu didn’t see how badly this could go. It was literally just a series of them playing rock paper scissors, it shouldn’t have gone this badly.

Here’s what happened: it was just Soobin and Beomgyu, cackling at each other as they play a very intense game of rock paper scissors, Beomgyu walking forward with Soobin in front of him, his steps going backwards.

Beomgyu should have warned him about the last step. He really should’ve.

But his mind was so stupidly preoccupied by the 15:10 score and Soobin’s laugh that it didn't register in his head until minutes later that Soobin just tipped over the edge of a rock cliff and fell down the mountain.

And silence. None of Soobin’s screams of distress, no grunting, no nothing.

Beomgyu freezes in horror.

“Soobin?” His voice is thick with terror. He doesn’t think he should look at what could be Soobin’s remains but his body is shaking to check up on his friend who just plummeted somewhere in the wild. “Soobin? Are… Are you still there?”

No response.

Beomgyu feels the back of his eyes sting with tears along with the rush of fear. He’s so stupid. He should have been a bit more attentive, he should’ve been so much more careful, he ---

“WHAT THE HELL?”

Beomgyu jumps at the sound of Soobin’s familiar voice --- cursing at everything in the world that has led to this moment. He’s quite vulgar, Beomgyu is noticing. He’s quite impressed at how Soobin never seems to run out of words.

“Soobin?” Beomgyu calls out with a thick voice. He isn’t about to start crying right now despite the heavy tears of relief welling up in his eyes. “Is that you? Are --- are you okay?”

“I LITERALLY FELL OFF A CLIFF! HOW CAN I BE OKAY?”

“Do --- Do I call for help? S --- Spiderma ---”

“NO! _DO NOT CALL SPIDERMAN!_ BEOMGYU, I SWEAR TO GOD! _DON’T_.”

“Who --- Who do I call then?”

“CALL YEONJUN! HURRY!”

“O -- Okay!” Beomgyu sniffs before he gets up to chase after the rest of their group, who he finds apparently, more than far from them.

It takes a while for Beomgyu to catch up with them but once he does, he’s sweating, sobbing, screaming Yeonjun’s name, and on the verge of vomiting all those chocolate snacks he snagged from Soobin, who he is desperately hoping is still conscious and safe right now.

“What happened?” Yeonjun almost chokes on his jelly drink upon seeing the sight that is Beomgyu about to pass out. “Beomgyu, what happened?”

“Soobin!” Beomgyu tells him through choked hiccups. “He --- He fell off a cliff!”

Alarms blare in everyone as they all rush to where Soobin had plunged to his… near death? Soobin sounded pretty fine but Beomgyu knows that you can never be sure so he screams (for why? He doesn’t know himself) all the way to Soobin’s crime scene.

“Choi Soobin!” Yeonjun shouts. “What the hell happened to you?”

“CAN SOMEONE COME GET ME FIRST!” Soobin screams from wherever he is laying. “QUESTIONS LATER! PLEASE!”

Beomgyu rushes over first, almost sliding on the rough edges of the hiking trail. He could hear the other panicking and following him. Soobin couldn’t be that far, judging that they were able to exchange such good pleasantries before Beomgyu went to get the others.

It’s a good thing it was only a short fall. When they found Soobin on where he was resting on his side, unmoving to the point where they actually thought he was dead and his last words were, “ _Choi Beomgyu, I’m going to kill_ _you_.” He had laughed in their faces and when asked why as they began to carry him up the mountain again in a group effort, according to him, it was because “I just wanted to scare you guys for a bit, aha --- OW!”

“I’ve already called emergency services,” Taehyun, the only one with a calm mind in this whole mess, informs them as they make their way to Huening Kai’s place, which, turns out, was just a mere 15 minutes away from Soobin’s almost-crime scene. They were so close before the tragedy struck. “We can rest Soobin in Kai’s place in the meantime while we wait for them.”

Yeonjun is carrying Soobin on his back, quietly making their way to their destination, Huening Kai is searching for something inside his bag with the help of Taehyun who is carefully holding him lest he falls (haha) in the same fate as Soobin, and Beomgyu is trying his best to keep Soobin awake.

“Did you know humans have only explored 5 percent of the world’s waters?” Beomgyu is chatting away at whatever facts he can rack in his brain just so Soobin can respond in bleary and barely coherent words.

“Mmmh?”

“Which means merpeople might exist! How cool is that?”

“Maybe we'll find my peace of mind if we look hard enough,” Yeonjun mumbles.

“Keep talking, Gyu,” Soobin mumbles, closing his eyes. His cheeks squished against Yeonjun’s back and Beomgyu has no reason to feel that uncomfortable curl in his gut but there it is.

Beomgyu panics at the sight of Soobin’s eyes fluttering close so he does the first thing a sane person would do.

He screams, making everyone jump in surprise. Soobin’s once closed eyes have snapped open to glare at Beomgyu.

“What the hell?” He asks softly. There is a lack of bite in his words, whether because he isn’t pissed, tired, or because Beomgyu isn’t Spiderman right now. No one knows.

“I have to keep you awake, so,” is all Beomgyu can offer him as an explanation.

“How can I be awake when I get a cardiac arrest, hm?”

“Drama queen.” Beomgyu knows he can’t really ruffle Soobin’s head in this given situation so he decides for a simpler gesture, he raises his hand and brushes his fingers over Soobin’s hair on the front.

The corner of Soobin’s lips curl upwards, dimples flashing, and Beomgyu revels in the sight.

-

They rest Soobin in one of the many guest bedrooms in Huening Kai’s vacation house. Beomgyu is with Huening Kai, a vet med student and the only one in their group close enough to have a medical background, who is currently tending to Soobin’s simpler wounds, such as the scrapes and bruises scattered around his legs and arms. Yeonjun and Taehyun are outside, waiting for emergency services.

“We usually use this for dogs,” Huening Kai tells Soobin brightly, putting the treatments on Soobin’s wound, who doesn’t flinch one bit.

“Thanks,” Soobin says flatly, looking as if his soul has flown out of the world. Beomgyu snickers at the sight that earns him an unimpressed stare from Soobin. Beomgyu only laughs harder.

“It can also work for humans, though!” Huening Kai tries to pacify Soobin but then he pauses and mumbles to himself, “... I think.”

“I’ll take what I can get at this point,” Soobin says. “My wrist hurts too. It’s either I sprained it or broke it.”

“I’m more surprised that you have such minimal injuries,” Huening Kai comments. “I honestly thought you would have broken your arms or your head or… Well, whatever! I’m glad you got away with just a few problems!”

Beomgyu shivers. It’s almost scary how Soobin is still intact and able to speak with that situation. No matter how narrow that fall was, it still doesn’t explain that the only possible broken bone Soobin has might be his wrist. Everyone agrees that there should’ve been more.

“Maybe it’s because he’s secretly a lizard,” Beomgyu muses, earning himself a pinch to the side of his stomach from Soobin. “I thought you hurt your wrist! What the hell!”

“I have another wrist, you know.”

Kai shakes his head and laughs before standing up to get Soobin a glass of water. He leaves the room, and it’s Beomgyu and Soobin again.

"Soobin."

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry," Beomgyu tells him. Despite his attempts to make the mood lighter, there are still those lingering words inside his head: _what if I had never suggested that game?_ Soobin probably would've been able to enjoy this trip a lot more and more and more and more that he wants to say.

Soobin tilts his head to look at him, puzzlement written all over his face, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I never suggested to play that game, you wouldn't be here right here now with your broken wrist and multiple scrapes and bruises, and you probably would have eaten your favorite dish by now and ---"

"Beomgyu," Soobin says calmly. "We both know you didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know, I know but I ---"

Beomgyu raises his gaze to get a look of what expression might be crossing Soobin's face right now but with the way his eyes blur with tears and how his mouth curls to try and repress the choked up sob in his throat --- he doesn't really think he could focus right now.

"Hey, hey," Soobin coos, placing his free hand over Beomgyu's. "It's fine now. I'm fine now --- I think. You didn't mean for this to happen, did you?"

Beomgyu hiccups for a number of ten times as he shakes his head.

Soobin laughs, patting his hand gently. "Then there's nothing to forgive."

-

Soobin had to be taken to the ER for cautionary purposes, leaving the other four to sit in Huening Kai's living room and think very hard about what just happened today.

It’s past lunch and Yeonjun is staring blankly at the ceiling, Taehyun is mumbling about potential injuries Soobin might have, Huening Kai is disputing Taehyun’s claims as a way to comfort him, and Beomgyu is still staring at the door where they last saw Soobin before he was taken in the ambulance.

“Beomgyu, you okay?” Huening Kai asks him, worry etched all over his face. He’s seated on the burgundy loveseat, just across Beomgyu, who is sitting cross-legged on the floor, still staring at the door.

“I’m not the one who fell off a cliff,” is Beomgyu’s sad response.

Yeonjun exhales a soft laugh but Beomgyu can still hear the tremors in his voice, “You were the one who saw him fall. That’s also pretty traumatizing.”

“I don’t know.”

That’s the best answer Beomgyu can give. He can’t help but feel the guilt weighing down on him like rough waves crashing on the shores. He knows he should have been more careful with Soobin, he was the one who was supposed to look out for him during that game, he should have done a bit more then maybe Soobin would have been able to join them here with no problem, maybe ---

“What did Soobin have to say about this?” It’s Taehyun this time, asking him in a soft voice.

Beomgyu’s head flashes to the earlier hour, to the hour where Soobin is holding his hand with a smile that can rival a thousand stars.

( _“Then there’s nothing to forgive,” Soobin had told him with a laugh that sounds like music to Beomgyu’s ears._ )

Beomgyu tells them just that, and there’s a ghost of a smile on their faces.

“If that’s what he said,” Yeonjun says. “Then there really is nothing to forgive.”

-

**soobin U(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)U**

beomgyuuu i can join you guys tomorrow!!

**You**

REALLY??? THAT BETTER NOT BE A SCAM

**soobin U(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)U**

it’s not!!! the doctor said so!! i swear!!

**You**

WHO”S GONNA PICK U UP THEN??? PLS DONT SAY YOU”LL WALK HERE AGAIN

**soobin U(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)U**

yj’s gonna pick me up!! dw!! we will be safe!!

**You**

OK!!! see u tom and stay safe >:((( <3

**soobin U(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)U**

^o^

-

Just as he promised, the first one Beomgyu sees upon promptly exiting his room (he had done a difficult job getting this one, and by that, he had to race Yeonjun for the balcony) is none other than Choi Soobin, dressed in a thin orange shirt, board shorts, a sling on his arm, and multiple bandages, snacking on a piece of fruit bread as he lies down on the mauve couch in the living room.

“Soobin!” Beomgyu exclaims at first glance, running towards his cute chief editor not unlike an excited puppy. “You’re really here!”

“I told you, didn’t I?”

Soobin laughs, opening his arms to catch Beomgyu in a tight embrace. Beomgyu doesn’t hesitate to crash on him. He moves carefully still, lest he accidentally hits one of Soobin’s wounds.

Beomgyu snuggles himself closer to Soobin’s chest, not unlike how you would hug a plush animal, eyes closed and focusing only on the other senses. The scent of freshly baked bread and fruits permeate off of him and Beomgyu can’t help but take a grand whiff of it.

“Are you sniffing me?” He can hear the amusement in Soobin’s voice from where he was buried on his chest.

Beomgyu doesn’t reply to that, only nuzzling his head even more. Soobin laughs, sounding absolutely delighted. Beomgyu can feel the jubilant vibrations through his whole body, joining the warmth and the blooming inside Beomgyu’s lungs.

“You must have really missed me, huh?” Soobin’s hand is on his head now, running his fingers through Beomgyu’s hair in an absentminded manner. “Well, don’t you worry, I’m very alive right now… I think.”

“I was scared to death, y’know,” Beomgyu whines, his words muffled by Soobin’s shirt. “I actually thought you were dead.”

“I know.” Soobin’s voice is quiet, almost pondering before he clicks his tongue, “and your first instinct when you knew I was alive was to call Spiderman instead of emergency services. Psh.”

“I was panicking, okay!” Beomgyu doesn’t mention that Spiderman would have arrived quicker because he was literally right there!

Soobin hums. “I may have seen my life flash through my eyes but I think you went through worse.”

Beomgyu was about to retort but his head snaps up when Huening Kai emerges from the kitchen, donning a cute and preppy pink apron and an equally cute and preppy headscarf.

“Beomgyu! You’re finally awake!” Huening Kai grins. Beomgyu can spot Taehyun in the back, matching with Huening Kai in a painfully bright yellow hue and working on cookies. “Have you tasted the fruit bread we made?”

“Not yet. I think Soobin is planning on eating them all.” Beomgyu laughs when Soobin delivers a pinch to his side. “Where’s Yeonjun?”

“He passed out again in his room,” Huening Kai answers with a snort. “He slept at 3am last night but he had to pick up at Soobin at 7 so he’s trying to take back some of his sleep.”

“Here.” Soobin offers his last piece of the fruit bread to Beomgyu. “Say ‘aaah’.”

“ _Ooooh_.” Beomgyu opens his mouth to catch the piece, feeling himself grin from ear to ear when Soobin bumps his head softly on Beomgyu’s. “This is great, by the way, Kai.”

“Actually, _I_ made that!” Taehyun interjects loudly from his place in the kitchen. “Kai just ate the fruits while watching me.”

“I guess I’m caught!” Huening Kai says cheerfully before he moves to the bedrooms. “I’m gonna go wake Yeonjun!”

"I'm still sorry," Beomgyu mumbles, letting his eyes take in the bandages scattered around Soobin's body.

Soobin gazes at him with soft eyes, "And I would still forgive you."

“What did the doctors say?” Beomgyu asks once he spots the bandaged wrist that Soobin complained might be broken yesterday. “Nothing lethal?”

“They were more fascinated with the fact that I had such little injuries for someone who fell off a cliff,” Soobin says with a smug grin. “I think I might just get a feature on the news soon.”

“Stupid. You should have just told them the truth.”

Soobin raises a brow in question.

“You should have told them you were a lizard --- Ouch!”

Soobin whacks his shoulder twice. Beomgyu stares at Soobin’s own shoulder before he asks, “Did the doctors say anything about your shoulder?”

Soobin hums. “They said my left one needs to be in a sling for two months but the other one is totally fine --- OW!”

Beomgyu whacks Soobin’s uninjured shoulder thrice. Soobin returns with four, and they so on and so on until they get tired and almost fall asleep on the couch --- had it not been the smell of Taehyun’s freshly baked cookies finally escaping the oven.

-

They spend the rest of the day in complete healing fun. When Yeonjun emerges from his room, he is met by the shot of the water guns from the club members, including Soobin who manages to make an accurate forehead hit despite his handicap. That triggers a whole chase, to where they used the massive space of Huening Kai’s mansion to their full advantage.

(“Someone is singing Cotton-Eyed Joe!” Beomgyu shouts as he roams the house, water gun slinged over his shoulder. “Choi Soobin, I know you’re here somewhere!”)

Huening Kai and Taehyun are fast asleep on top of each other on the couch as Beomgyu cooks the barbeque for lunch with Yeonjun, with the occasional Soobin popping in to steal some of the cooked meat. Yeonjun’s threats are only met with an evil cackle from Soobin.

(“If you steal one more, Choi Soobin, I swear, I will hide a hundred rats in your room later,” Yeonjun mumbles.

His near pathetic attempts to protect the cooked meat are only given an exaltant guffaw from Soobin, a promise of return.)

They watch the sunset as they’re swimming around the infinity pool at the back of Huening Kai’s house. Soobin, unable to swim, sits at the edge of the pool, only dipping his toes and occasionally, his hands just to splash the other members who aren’t able to do anything about it. Beomgyu does his best to float around but somehow always ends up by Soobin’s side.

(“You guys didn’t watch the sunset yesterday because you were waiting for me?” Soobin sniffs, wiping a fake tear away from his face. “I might just cry. I’m so touched, guys!”

“I never wanted to drown someone so bad,” Taehyun murmurs. Huening Kai nods beside him.)

Their days ends with board games, Yeonjun and Huening Kai scream at each other every five seconds, Beomgyu and Soobin try their best… in scamming to secure wins, and Taehyun just wins every time.

It’s about 11pm when Beomgyu, already close to drowsing off to sleep, gets up to answer the soft knocks on his door. He has inkling on who it is and his lips curl up into a smile despite his grogginess when his suspicions get confirmed.

“Soobin,” he greets, letting the other inside with no qualms.

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Did I wake you?” Soobin sits on the edge of his bed. He looks so lost amongst the huge piles of pillow Beomgyu has built that a laugh slips out of Beomgyu’s lips.

“Not really. What’s up?”

Soobin is quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful before he says, “I just wanted to see you.”

The admission comes swiftly that it would have been easily missed by anyone but Beomgyu catches it --- and he pauses. The words that start to echo in his head in a never ending cadence sends a fluttering sensation all over his chest, the feeling blossoms all over his lungs and stomach.

Such things Choi Soobin does to him.

But Beomgyu only hums, he plops himself down on his bed right on the spot next to Soobin and spreads his arms wide. “Is that so? Then come here, you big baby.”

Soobin doesn’t hesitate one bit in moving forward. He grins, settling himself in Beomgyu’s arms that wrap around him in an instant.

“Can I sleep here?” Soobin whispers, as if anyone else is going to hear them in this massive room, and as if Beomgyu would ever say no to that.

“You’re already here anyways! There’s nowhere else to go for you.”

They spend a good moment laying there in silence. The drowsiness from earlier has completely faded from Beomgyu and the only thing he can think about right now is the warmth radiating from Soobin on this summer night.

“Soobin?”

A noncommittal hum.

“I have a really important question to ask.”

“... Okay.”

“Why do you hate Spiderman so much?”

“Oh my god, it’s this again,” Soobin groans. He shifts for a bit before seemingly changing his mind and stays still once more in Beomgyu’s arms. “Why are you all so obsessed with him?”

 _I’m literally him!_ Beomgyu tries not to scream. _I’m asking why you hate ME so much!_

“I’m not!” Beomgyu retorts, all defensive like that. “I’m just curious!”

Soobin snorts. “Yeah, right.”

“Fine. Keep your secrets. Lame.”

Soobin laughs at the sight of Beomgyu pouting. Beomgyu knows he can’t resist this look --- actually, he can but he just yields because Beomgyu probably gets loud whenever he gets rejected.

“You really wanna know?”

“Yes!” Beomgyu instantly responds. “I’ll even do your homework if you tell me! … Please.”

“I’m pretty sure industrial biology and psychology are worlds away from each other.,” Soobin teases. “But okay, since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you.”

Beomgyu nods vigorously.

“Well, remember last year on your birthday?” Soobin begins with a bitter start to his words, like the very memory itself was so disgusting. “I gave you a shirt right?”

“Yeah.”

The gray shirt with Ryan from Kakao Friends sleeping printed on it? How could Beomgyu ever forget when it’s a staple in his pyjama wear? Granted, he doesn’t get much sleep these days but in rare times he does, he always has that on.

“That wasn’t the original gift.”

Beomgyu blinks. “What?”

“I bought you something different. The shirt was just something I grabbed from my closet last minute,” Soobin tells him. There is guilt scattered all over his face. “I saved up for that gift for so long because I knew you would love it and I was so excited but your birthday was also the same day Spiderman was fighting some stupid robot I don’t know --- I didn’t care. I was just rushing to our dorms.”

Beomgyu has a very, very vague idea on where Soobin might be going with this. (Rewording: he knows _exactly_ where Soobin is going with that.)

“Then all of a sudden, for no specific reason, Spiderman just decides to throw a whole bike in my direction.”

Beomgyu does his best to keep a blank face but deep down, he wants to curl up into a ball and die.

(“What do you mean, you’re out to get me, Mr. Robot?” Beomgyu flexes the best of his muscles to the strange humanoid in front of him. “With these babies, I don’t think you’re gonna get anything!”

“THAT DOESN’T EVEN MAKE SENSE!” A very nice civilian screams from somewhere.

Beomgyu huffs. He’ll show them what truly makes sense!

Beomgyu grabs the nearest mode of transportation with his web and flings it off somewhere. Just to show off --- _or warm up_ before he grabs an empty car next and swings it to the robot.)

“So, out of shock, I dropped the box and the whole thing broke. I didn't really care much for Spiderman at first but --- I’ve worked so hard for that gift but it disappeared on me just like that." This expression on Soobin is something Beomgyu never wants to see but here he is, watching it unfold in front of his eyes. “I know it sounds petty and whatever --- but I wanted to see your face when you opened the gift but that just had to happen --- all because that brat decided to show off.”

Ah. Beomgyu really messed up with that one.

“I liked your gift though,” Beomgyu tells him with all honesty. “Even if that came straight out of your closet.”

Beomgyu won’t lie. There’s a strange part of him that likes the idea of his shirt coming straight out of Soobin’s probably cluttered closet.

“You would have loved the first one,” Soobin says. “It was a custom polaroid camera. You probably would have brought it here today.”

Well, he’s right about that. Beomgyu would have absolutely been enthralled with that gift. He curses himself at his own stupidity. From now on, no more showing off by throwing bikes! Especially if the bike was (indirectly) pointed at Soobin! Because this would be the effect! Soobin hates him and is looking so sad right now.

“Dang,” is all Beomgyu supplies.

Soobin chuckles but there’s an evident bitterness there, “It’s a very personal problem, you’re probably thinking that right?”

“Yeah. I was honestly thinking you hated Spiderman because he was breaking the law or something.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” Soobin objects. “I have a problem with authority too.”

Beomgyu snorts. “You’re literally the leader of our club.”

Soobin only shrugs.

“Honestly, I already loved your gift but the sound of that camera makes me so sad,” Beomgyu says. He isn't joking at all when he says, “You wanna beat Spiderman up? I’ll do it for you.”

“What are you gonna do? Bite him?”

“I’m just as tall as him! C’mon, Soobin!”

Soobin just shakes his head, nuzzling his head in the crook of Beomgyu’s neck. The tip of his nose tickles his skin, just barely grazing over Beomgyu’s skin. The sensation is enough for Beomgyu to almost shiver.

Silence.

Beomgyu rests his palms on Soobin’s head cautiously. He runs his fingers over Soobin’s hair in a manner as gentle as he can. Soobin exhales a sigh before he utters, “Good night, Gyu.”

“Good night.”

-

(“ _Happy Birthday, Beomgyu.” It’s Soobin’s turn to give his gift. His mouth is downturned into a pout. Beomgyu doesn’t know why he looks so out of it tonight. The others are frowning from behind them too, looking just as sad as they watch the scene unfold._

_“Thanks!” Beomgyu tries not to wince in pain when he reaches over to get the gift. Stupid robot. He curses inside his head. That fire hydrant to the sides was so uncalled for._

_He opens the gift with nimble fingers, carefully (not) ripping the bag until he sees a folded gray shirt. He unfurls the shirt and is met with an adorable looking print of Ryan from Kakao Friends sleeping peacefully on a blue pillow._

_Beomgyu is totally exuberant. It’s so cute and it’s very on brand with Beomgyu’s bear agenda. He loves it --- and it's totally not just because Soobin gave it to him._

_“Thank you so much! I love it!” Beomgyu jumps on Soobin for an embrace. He hears a startled grunt from the giver, and a sigh of relief from the other members_.)

-

The trip ends well, despite Soobin’s earlier accident. At some point in their outing, Beomgyu gets bored of cooking and swimming that he decides to pull a mystery game by turning off all the electricity with the help of Soobin, who cackles upon seeing the members crash into each other while cursing them.

(“The next time I see you two, you’re gonna get strangled, I swear!” Yeonjun shouts into the darkness while Soobin, Beomgyu, and Huening Kai, who has joined them because he also thinks this is funny, giggle in joy at the sight of Yeonjun suffering.

“Of course, I’m not gonna do it,” Yeonjun mumbles. “Taehyun will do it.”

“Do not use my name without permission,” Taehyun interjects. A pause before he adds, “But yes, I will do that.”)

“I think we should talk,” Taehyun says once they’ve made it back into their dorms.

They’ve both agreed to unpack their bags the next day, so they are sitting in the middle of their dorm room with their bags cluttered around with no care.

Beomgyu gives a non-committal hum from where he was reading his papers. He takes a meek sip of his cola.

“When do you plan on confessing to Soobin?”

Beomgyu chokes and sputters out his drink.

“What do you mean?” He tries his best not to stutter but with how things are going and with how Taehyun is smirking at him, he’s probably failed.

“You know what I mean,” says Taehyun with a slurp of his own drink. He wiggles his eyebrows too for good effect.

Beomgyu looks down. That’s anything but a good idea. “I don’t know… he hates me.”

That sends Taehyun almost spluttering. His eyes are wide as he stares at Beomgyu incredulously.

“Are you… serious?” Taehyun’s voice is disbelieving. “He is literally --- oh wait, you’re talking about you being Spiderman.”

Beomgyu blinks up at him. “Well, what else did you think I was talking about?”

Taehyun studies him carefully for a moment, his lips pursed in complete concentration before he exhales and shakes his head, “Nothing. Never mind what I was saying --- do you ever plan on telling Soobin about you?”

“Why would I when it seems like he’d rather eat his foot than ever acknowledge Spiderman?”

“But it’s you,” Taehyun argues. “I don’t know if you’re blind or something, but Soobin is quite fond of you --- too fond, I’ll say.”

“Really? You think he’d still like me if I tell him everything?”

Beomgyu bites his lip. His relationship with Soobin is something he treasures very much. Sure, it’s only been two years since they met but Beomgyu is very sure that whatever he and Soobin have right now will last a lifetime. Beomgyu hasn’t felt like that with anyone unless he’s with Soobin, fluttering chests and lighthearted smiles that carry weight more than anyone but them can feel.

He doesn’t wanna ruin that.

“I know he will,” Taehyun tells him. “Soobin isn’t such a shallow person. He’ll understand.”

Beomgyu thinks of forlorn expressions casted on Soobin’s face when he talked about that day on Beomgyu’s birthday and his bitter words upon telling Beomgyu his story. He looks at his shirt and sees the sleeping Ryan print on it.

“I hope so,” Beomgyu says.

-

This time, Beomgyu is the one who asks for Soobin after their club meeting, and he didn’t at all miss the glint in Soobin’s eyes when he uttered those words, along with the other members’ growing smirks. He gets an instant ‘ok’ right after.

Beomgyu is the one locking up the office now, as Soobin’s wrist is still injured. He tries to distract himself from the bubbling anxiety of Soobin’s response by going along with Soobin singing Freddy, My Love, no matter how much his voice might be shaking right now.

“Let’s go?”

Beomgyu nods when Soobin appears in front of him. He looks very happy tonight, dimples flashing with a smile that reaches beyond his eyes. Maybe he had his General Ecology results back.

They begin to walk, in those matched steps and harmonious cadence. Beomgyu’s heart continues to pound erratically in his chest, so loud in his ears and so overwhelming --- but still, he never goes out of beat with Soobin.

Beomgyu really doesn’t want to lose this.

He searches for the words, racks out everything in his brain to try and speak.

“Soobin.” His voice shakes despite his best efforts not to.

Soobin glances at him, face illuminated by the soft lights of the streetlamps. Beomgyu can’t make out his expression when his head is spinning.

“I have something to confess.”

A smile crosses Soobin’s face, bright and completely blissful. He gestures to Beomgyu’s hand with his own, “May I?”

A moment of puzzlement crosses over Beomgyu but he nods anyway, and Soobin picks up his hand with the one that isn’t on a sling. He chuckles, observing Beomgyu’s hand intently, “You’re shaking.”

“Well, I have a rather life-changing confession to make. Anyone would be a shaking mess in my position.”

“Well, don’t worry about that,” Soobin tells him, as if he knows what Beomgyu is talking about, “because I feel the exact same way.”

Beomgyu tilts his head. If he was confused earlier, he’s even more confused now. What’s Soobin spouting now?

“What do you mean?”

“I mean --- I like you too. I always had for a long time that I might even say that I… love you now,” Soobin blushes. “I just like how there’s no one who can match me as well as you. There’s no one like you, Choi Beomgyu, and I really like that about you.”

Oh.

Oh no.

Beomgyu finds himself gaping at him. This was totally different from what he had in mind.

Soobin falters at his silence. He freezes, “Was that --- was that not the reason why you called me?”

“I wanted to tell you…” Beomgyu, even if there was an expectant thought in his head that things might end up like this, thinks that somehow his own confession pales in comparison to what just Soobin told him. “That…”

“Oh my god.” The red from Soobin’s cheeks have completely drained now. “That… that wasn’t what you were trying to tell me?”

“I’m Spiderman.”

Beomgyu blurts it out before Soobin might decide to run away. Too bad. Beomgyu has already prepped himself for this for a night and half a day, he won’t let one confession ruin it (not that… the confession ruined anything.)

Soobin blinks down at him, unmoving for a good five seconds before he mumbles in a low voice, “What?”

“I’m… I’m Spiderman…”

Soobin narrows his eyes. There’s a prickliness in his voice when he speaks. Beomgyu knows that voice. The ice cold voice that Soobin uses to defend himself upon feeling he might get hurt, “Beomgyu, stop playing around. If you want to reject me, then you could just say so ---”

“Before you start, I’m not joking.” Beomgyu exhales a deep breath. “I wouldn’t… joke about this especially when I know why you hate him now but I don’t wanna keep things from you and I ---”

“Beomgyu,” Soobin says softly. “You really don't have to say that if you don't want me too. I won't get mad if you say no.”

"I'm not trying to reject you, Soobin!" Beomgyu almost shouts in frustration. "I'm telling the truth!"

Soobin's expression is completely devoid of any emotions. "Is that so?"

Beomgyu nods. "I'll even change for you right now, just to prove my point ---"

Soobin holds up a hand. He's still calm. Beomgyu can't decide if it's a good thing or not.. "Don't. It's fine."

“Are you... “ Beomgyu tries to find the right thing to say. “Feeling any _intense_ emotions? Do you believe me?”

“I don’t think I’m feeling anything right now,” Soobin tells him, and Beomgyu can sense the earnestness in his voice. “And I don’t know if I believe you or not.”

“Oh.” It’s all Beomgyu can say. He doesn’t really know if he should add to that. Usually it would be here that would try and begin to convince Soobin, but from his fair share of an admission, Beomgyu doesn’t know what to do. “Okay, then.”

They don’t stop walking together still, but they don’t halt at their regular stop. They just continue to match their steps like that, with no more words exchanged when they go their separate ways.

-

The anticipating smile on Taehyun’s face wipes out upon seeing the look on Beomgyu’s face when he enters their dorm.

“What happened?” He asks, sitting Beomgyu down on their couch. “What did he say?”

“I don’t know,” Beomgyu says honestly.

-

Beomgyu’s late night patrols suddenly aren’t as exciting anymore. Especially when there’s a nagging voice weighing down on him like a big fat truck that he hopes would just run over him now.

He lingers around his dorm building, dangling around just in the hopes that a certain someone would come out of his cavehole and finally talk to him. But he knows that certain someone’s General Ecology exam is done but he still checks in every fifteen minutes and his hopes are always crushed when he’s greeted by an empty street.

Okay, last one. He promises himself. Let’s scout more areas when he’s not there.

Like the universe answering his unsaid prayer, Beomgyu finds none other than Choi Soobin loitering outside the convenience store in front of their dorm building, munching on a piece of sandwich as he stares at god knows what.

Beomgyu lands himself on top of the streetlamp nearest to his dearest chief editor. He’s light enough to sit in a crouching position on it.

“Hey.” Beomgyu offers him a small wave, to which he receives a frown in return.

Beomgyu knows Soobin is studying him well, trying to test out Beomgyu’s confession, from the great concentration his eyes are locking in on him, and despite this whole suit covering Beomgyu from head to toe, he can’t help but feel so bare when Soobin is looking at him like that.

“Brat,” Soobin greets in return. “I don't really like you but I'm starting to doubt that now. So, I have something to ask you.”

Beomgyu doesn't think he can form a coherent statement right now so he replies with a hum.

“I made a rather hasty love confession to a friend without thinking it through and they made a rather shocking claim of their own,” Soobin tells him. “I’m asking for your opinion --- as a stranger --- on what do I do?”

“Depends, really." Beomgyu is sure his voice is shaking but he presses on. “What are your own thoughts?”

“Well, I’ve thought it through --- I think I’m fine. I just feel a little bit --- or a whole lot stupid.” Soobin glances at him. “I just don’t know what my friend thinks of mine.”

“You’re being dramatic." Beomgyu finally decides enough is enough and they're gonna have to go at this straightforward. “I like you too, if that’s what you wanna hear.”

The corner of Soobin’s lips twitch upwards. “How narcissistic of you ”

“I guess I have to prove it myself then.” Beomgyu drops himself from the streetlamp, dangling upside down with a web. “Come here.”

Soobin chuckles. He walks over to where Beomgyu is in quiet steps. He is mere inches close to Beomgyu’s face, dimples showing themselves.

“It’s all starting to make sense in my mind,” Soobin mumbles. He touches the edge of Beomgyu’s mask with his uninjured hand. It’s a question. “May I?”

Beomgyu, who finds that he can't bring himself to speak, gives him a thumbs-up.

Soobin slowly unravels the bottom part of his face with every second ticking past them feeling more like hours than anything. Beomgyu holds his breath when Soobin stops just below his nose.

“It’s you alright,” Soobin whispers before he captures Beomgyu’s lips with his own.

Underneath the light of the streetlamps, where both of them are illuminated by the soft light of the streetlamps, Beomgyu can only think of one thing.

There is no one that can ever match him so well like this.

-

**HEADLINE: Ducks Have Finally Arrived!**

**Written by: Huening Kai**

After many semesters of asking, our university has finally decided to add ducks to one of our gardens! Perhaps in celebration of 5:53 Daily Newspaper's new and very anticipated couple, our chief editor, Choi Soobin, and our photographer, Choi Beomgyu!

This moment marks a very happy day and as w...

**Author's Note:**

> what a ride... please give kudos and a comment!! also pls wait for emergency services instead of moving your friend when they fall off a cliff.
> 
> follow me on twt: @sbgyu_


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